CAMPBELL, Mo. -- It took until the final at-bat but the Campbell Camels finally received the clutch hit it needed to secure the top prize at the Campbell Fall Baseball Classic Tuesday.
Campbell leadoff hitter Charles Parker stepped to the plate with the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning and hammered a line drive up the middle.
Parker's RBI single to centerfield plated the only run of the title game and propelled No. 2 seeded Campbell past the No. 5 seeded Advance Hornets 1-0 in walkoff fashion.
"It took us a while to score," Campbell coach Joe Campbell said. "We struggled at the plate and their pitcher threw well the entire game. We were finally able to string something together. A guy that has struck out three times steps up and gets the game-winning hit. Charles has been hitting for us all season and was able to stay locked in during his fourth at-bat even after three strikeouts. It was a good team win."
The scoring opportunity developed for the Camels after they loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Skylar Morrison got things started when he reached base on a bloop single to right field. Blake Fowler followed by drawing a walk before pinch hitter Logan Schatz reached base on a bunt single.
"We have to move guys station to station because we don't have a lot of guys that can hit the ball over the fence," Campbell said. "But when you have nine guys in the lineup that execute you can still score some runs."
Advance reliever Layton Keith nearly escaped the bases-loaded jam. Keith struck out Gordon Todd for the first out and got the next hitter, Jacob Vines, to bunt into a 1-2 fielder's choice for the second out before having to face Parker with two outs.
"Both teams had several opportunities and they just got the big hit when they needed it," Advance coach Chris Asmus said. "Parker has taken good at-bats all season. Every time I've seen him he squares the ball up well. He struggled the first few at-bats but we knew he was dangerous if he got back to the plate."
Both teams had a few opportunities to score before the seventh inning. Campbell stranded a runner at second in the second, fourth and fifth frames.
Advance stranded a runner at second in the first inning and failed to score after loading the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth inning.
Morrison pitched the first 6 2/3 innings for Campbell before being lifted due to pitch count restrictions. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out nine in a 96-pitch outing. Jacob Vines relieved Morrison and got the final out of the top of the seventh inning.
"Our pitchers threw outstanding today," Campbell said. "Our starter was one pitch away from making it through seven innings against a good-hitting Advance team. Then Jacob Vines came in and closed the door in relief."
Ridley Bailey pitched the first six innings for Advance. He allowed five hits, struck out 10 and walked one.
"I couldn't ask for anything more out of him," Asmus said. "He threw strikes and got out of jams. He just pitched his butt off."
Keith relieved Bailey, who was also nearing his pitch count after six innings of work, at the start of the bottom of the seventh inning.
Advance leadoff hitter Noah Sauceda finished 2-for-4.
Campbell No. 2 hitter Kaden Siebert went 2-for-3.
Advance upset No. 4 seeded Bell City 9-2 in a quarterfinal Saturday and beat No. 1 seeded Bernie 5-0 in a semifinal Monday before coming up a run shy in the title game.
"I thought we got better the last two weeks of the season," Asmus said. "We played good baseball and did things the right way. We had the mindset we were going to try to come out there and win this thing. We were in the mix for it today and just a run or a couple strikes away from it."
Campbell (11-4) beat No. 7 seeded Bloomfield 11-0 in its quarterfinal Saturday and beat No. 3 seeded South Pemiscot 3-1 in a semifinal Monday to reach the championship.
"We had a great fall,"Campbell said. "We had a setback here and there but for the most part I felt like we got better every game. Then we got hot at the right time and beat some good teams in the tournament, which is the way you want to end it."